We Stepped In It This Time
by dinger
Summary: Some missing scenes from the episode The Least Dangerous Game. When the brothers are hired to investigate the death of an animal keeper, they go undercover at the zoo.


**We Stepped In It This Time…**

Based on the episode "The Least Dangerous Game" from the first season.

_All the usual disclaimers apply. I don't own the rights or get any money. This is purely for entertainment only._

_Please forgive any errors - they are mine, all mine - lock, stock and barrel._

Rick and AJ Simon needed to head back to the front of the zoo where the administration offices were located. It was a nice walk after hours, once all the bratty kids and their exhausted, indulgent parents were gone. The air was chilly and noisy, as if the animals were all hanging out by the fences discussing the events of the day with their neighbors saying, "Hey, the stage show's over everyone. It's Miller time!" AJ and Rick were coming from Dr. Sawyer's office where there had been some startling revelations. They were discussing the variety of angles this case had just taken with the information Dr. Sawyer, the vet, had just given them.

"You want to walk on this for a few minutes?" AJ asked. Rick was familiar with that tone. He knew AJ liked to exercise when he wanted to think something through.

"Sure, lets just wander for awhile."

They walked along in companionable silence for a while, mulling it all over. They knew where to find Fry. Derek Fry was the man who had hired them to determine that one of the zoo's handlers had a drug or alcohol problem to explain why a lion had, for want of a better way of putting it, consumed him. It was plain to Rick and AJ that that's exactly what he wanted, not necessarily the truth. It had happened to them before. Someone hiring them hoping they would look the other way because they were hard up for the money. Happened too often.

Fry was going to be working at the Administration building late tonight on a follow-up meeting since the board hired Peerless Detectives in lieu of their agency. Myron was not letting them hear the end of it. When they hadn't given Fry the proof of drug abuse that had been planted for them to find, they were fired.

Fry had one of his goons, Cramer, plant some PCP for them to find in the apartment of David Howell, the handler in charge of feeding the big cats. He didn't count on them finding the syringes with Leo the lion's flesh embedded in the needle. Dr. Sawyer, a vet at the zoo, had analyzed what they found in the apartment for them and figured that the PCP that Howell had been using on the lion had degraded to the point of being useless. It is what had led to Howell inadvertently serve Leo steak tartar.

Dr. Sawyer's information was the clue that seemed to bring it all together. Howell went in with Leo thinking the lion was way too tranquil to attack him, nor realizing Leo had not eaten for five days. The staff had thought the animal was sick with possible meningitis, symptoms that could be mimicked with PCP. The lion had been destroyed, however, PCP was not mentioned in the autopsy report provided by clinic that worked with the zoo in these situations. Here they had discovered the link between the Kenner Foundation, a non-profit research clinic set up by the Fry family and the animals that were being put down. Animals that included Leo. This was the clue that had put them on this lead back to their former employer.

"Do you think the autopsy reports were forged and that the animals sent to the Kenner Foundation are still alive?" AJ asked.

"What, sold to the highest bidder? I don't get it. Fry is old money, why would he want to do that?"

"Maybe he wants to hunt 'em?"

"Nah, not when he can just call up a jet and take a trip down to Africa to do all the legal and illegal hunting his little black heart desires. Why go to all the trouble? Turn here." Rick indicated a path up between two boulders and the lush foliage. He glanced at one of the many description boards that had been posted around the zoo. This one was discussing harpy eagles. He wasn't much for birds if he couldn't eat them, but he found some of the facts fascinating. _They are skilled hunters, known to take small to medium birds and mammals_. Bet they say that about all the eagles, he thought with a smile. He stopped AJ long enough to say, "Hey did you know these eagles can pick up and eat a small deer!"

"No?" His brother joined him at the board for a minute and he scanned a few more sentences. _Harpy eagles hit with awesome force and speed, grasping their hapless prey with massive talons the size of grizzly bear claws. Once back at the nest, their powerful beaks are an effective tool for tearing flesh_.

"Don't worry little brother. I won't let the big bad birdie carry you off." He said to AJ with a grin while grabbing AJ in a headlock. AJ managed to evade his older brother and quipped, "Worry about yourself, bird brain. You're the one who's the lightweight." They exchanged some mock punches before resuming their walk with a much lighter attitude.

Later, Rick was to think, usually I have some sense of foreboding, but this time, of all times, I should have known how prophetic my words were to be…

* * *

The two had walked past the ongoing construction and were on their way through cat canyon when Rick thought he caught the soft sound of … something. That was right before AJ yelled "Ow!" and spun around, his right arm grabbing at his back, his left his stomach. A thousand possibilities ran through his mind as he tried to see what AJ was grabbing at. Was he shot? Was it a bee sting? Wasps? What! 

"AJ!" He didn't answer. He just grimaced and tried futilely to get at his back with both of his arms. Rick tried to look at his back for him, but AJ was still trying to turn himself. Then he looked at Rick, fear in his eyes. Rick grabbed AJ under his arms just as his legs gave out and he collapsed. A dart whistled past Rick to lodge in the dirt somewhere to his right. Tranquilizers! AJ's collapse had come at just the right moment. Rick gathered him in a bear hug and dragged him as fast as he could to the protective cover of the trees.

"Rick?" came AJ's muffled voice from Rick's belly. "Rick, get it out! The needle. It's still in my back!"

Figuring the shooter to be around the bend and still up on the hill, he laid AJ down on the path long enough to find the dart protruding from his low back. AJ's jacket had protected him some. The dart that had been used must have been used for larger animals. It had one hell of a needle on it. AJ had received a pretty hefty dose of something, and Rick realized if he weren't careful, it was just a matter of time before he did too. He fought some nausea as he threw the dart away. Rick knew he had to find a way out of here for the both of them, and quickly. AJ was trying to get up.

"You ok?"

"I think so."

"Can you walk on your own?"

AJ smiled. "I think so. Can you get us into the cathouse over there?"

Rick nodded an affirmative, took AJ by the left arm and they ran towards the red brick building that housed some of the more exotic cats of the zoo. AJ stumbled once or twice, but for the most part he was able to keep up. He was swaying though by the time they were at the door, and Rick had to pull him back twice before he could successfully pick the lock. The run had sped up the drugs entry into AJ's bloodstream, and by the time Rick closed the door behind the two of them, AJ was starting to act weird.

"Wow! Di'ja ever see such a good place for hide and seek! You go hide Rick and I'll find you."

Rick, unaccustomed to the role he was playing, just nodded. "Uh hunh." He looked around, quickly assessing the layout and trying to figure out the best route to use to evade the shooter he knew would be coming in behind them. He relocked the door, and found a bar to wedge in, just to make it a little harder to get in. The noise would let him know when he and AJ were no longer alone. He had to put some distance in between this door and themselves before it could be unlocked again.

AJ began counting. "One, two, go on Rick, hide!"

"Uh, no AJ. We are hiding from someone else right now. Come on. Let's hide together."

"Oh, ok!" AJ tripped along behind his brother, bumping into him more often than not.

His coordination is shot, Rick thought, working his way to the center of the building. Once he knew where the tranquilizerjerk was coming from, he would know where to go. AJ started to go off on his own.

"Oh no, you're staying with me AJ."

"Why?"

"Because I said so, ok?"

He led the way past a large empty cage. He paused, trying to listen past AJ's noisy breathing. Was that the door? The next thing he knew he was being pushed to the floor, his breathe knocked out.

AJ clumsily wrapped his legs around his brother's waist as he tried to wrestle him to the ground and get him in a headlock. Rick easily had the upper hand, but he found he had to fight the urge to pound AJ's head on the floor as AJ laughed manically. Frantically, Rick covered his brother's mouth with his right hand. Rick tried to get through his brother's drug fogged brain to the partner he relied on in these life or death struggles.

"AJ, AJ listen to me, you're going to have to be quiet here. AJ?" AJ rolled his blue eyes around to try to focus on the face that hovered above him in a strange distorted fashion. "Now listen to me. Listen to me. You've been shot with a tranquilizer dart." He knew he wasn't getting anywhere as AJ laughed underneath his hand, but he pushed ahead anyways. "You've been drugged. You have to be quiet. Do you understand me? Shut up!" That tone had worked when AJ was little. Rick was beginning to feel like a bully, but he forged onwards determinedly. "Are you going to be quiet? Huh?" AJ nodded with a dazed look, but as soon as Rick removed his hand AJ's laughter rang out. Rick quickly slapped his hand over AJ's mouth again and repeated softly and violently. "Quiet!"

He removed his hand and eased over on his left elbow. Effortlessly he moved off AJ's still prone body. He felt desperate and angry. He knew it wasn't really AJ's fault that he was acting this way, but if AJ didn't stop, he was going to get the both of them killed. Rick debated hitting him and knocking him out, but he needed AJ's cooperation to get through the cathouse. He couldn't carry him the whole way.

"Hey Rick?" AJ was sitting up now looking all of seventeen, innocent and ignorant of the danger they were in. Rick couldn't tell for sure, but he thought he heard the door open.

"Shuhhh!"

"Why did you hit that guy at the dance?"

"Shut up!" Rick reached over and retrieved his hat. It was time to move.

"He was only dancing with her." Maybe I can ignore him. He just would not shut up. Rick tried not to think of what would happen if one of those darts hit him. The pictures of what was left of Howell's body after Leo had finished with him haunted Rick's memory. He put AJ in the picture and that spurred him on to do what he had to do.

The large variety of cats in the house were picking up on the fear and confusion in their environment and were letting their disapproval be known. Many were howling, some hissed and spat. _Think of them as large kittens_. Rick tried to console himself. It didn't work. Adrenaline surged through his system making him want to take action. Usually, he was able to hit someone or something when he felt this way. AJ was making himself a nice target, but, Rick reminded himself, it was not his fault.

Rick went over to help AJ up grabbing him by the jacket lapels. AJ stared innocently into his brother's eyes waiting patiently for an answer to a question. Didn't matter that the event had happened nearly two decades ago, it was fresh in this drug-influenced mind. Rick tried to support AJ as they walked behind a jaguar's cage by holding him under his arm, but AJ's right leg would not hold up. He was jabbering on about how their dad was going to be mad when they got home. If Rick had any question about AJ's mind, he knew now that AJ had lost it. Dad had been dead long before the incident at the dance and he forced himself to focus on the task of getting AJ out of the zoo alive before they both became cat food. He pulled him up and over his shoulder as AJ laughed hysterically over a leg that would not hold him while he walked. The leg on the same side that the dart had gotten him he noted. Rick hoped there was not any permanent damage.

Rick caught a flash of light from the corner of his eye and dashed behind a convenient pillar. "AJ. SHUT UP!" He whispered as forcefully as he could as he slung his brother into an upright position. The shooter was at the opposite end of the cathouse, and the cats were making enough noise to cover any quiet movement they made, but AJ was laughing and talking at full volume. IfRick couldn't get him to stop, he was going to get them both in a world of hurt.

Rick was faced with the question of "do I hurt him for his own good?" but still was reluctant to do anything to knock AJ out. Eventually the tranquilizer would do the job for him, but for now, he needed his brother's cooperation.

"AJ, help me." Rick whispered.

"Huh? How?" AJ asked while sliding down the wall to sit awkwardly on the floor.

"Can you run with me real quiet like over to that wall over there? I'll help you even."

AJ tilted his head to one side and replied with a smile, "Sure! Running's my specialty. Did you see me outrun Carl Martin the other day? I beat him with…"

"AJ, shut up! Alright, lets go." Rick helped his brother to stand and ran with him about twenty yards to the next wall. A lynx hissed her disapproval of the nighttime interruption the men had provided to the atmosphere. AJ began to laugh excitedly again and Rick had to grab him as he fell. Rick wrapped his right arm around AJ and nearly dragged him around the corner of the next set of cages.

"Would you shut up?"

AJ looked up into Rick's face, pointing his finger at him as he laughed and asked "Did you see the face of that guy when we dropped that water balloon on his convertible?"

That was ages ago! Rick was getting desperate and frantically searched his memory for something that he could use to shock AJ in silence. If he thought dad would be mad then, "If you don't shut up I'm gonna tell dad what you did in old man Edwards rose bed." He hissed. That did it. Slowly the grin left AJ's face to be replaced with a look of silent horror. "Alright." Taking him under his arm again Rick took off again in grim satisfaction, wondering how long the threat would hold.

The low throaty growl of a striped bangle tiger filled the resulting silence. Rick listened for the sound of footsteps not their own while he made his way across the house. Always tense, he kept expecting to feel a sharp prick in his thigh or back telling him that he had failed this game of cat and mouse. He propped AJ up against a wall long enough to slowly peer around a corner. Not seeing Fry's hired gun, he took AJ by the jacket and forcefully encouraged him to cross the opening expeditiously. AJ managed at the last second to hit the pillar across the hallway with his arms, not his face. He seemed awfully proud of that achievement and that started anotherpeal of laughter. Rick followed quickly, grabbing his doped up, tripping partner by the collar and pants. His foot caught a shovel as they ran and it fell, making a loud racket.

He felt exposed and vulnerable as they were hot footin' it across the relative openness of the cages. AJ helpfully put his hand to his lips and "shushed" Rick as they ran to yet another series of corridors. A dart splintered the cement of the pillar they had just left giving justification to his current state of mind. He propelled AJ in front of him like the hounds of hell were on his heels, but AJ soon wore down.

Rick was getting tired too; the adrenaline was taking its toll on his body. He tried carrying AJ again, but his brother would have nothing to do with that anymore. He tried putting AJ's arm over his shoulders, but AJ just began to slump over on him, muttering it was time to go home. Eventually, he pulled both of AJ's arms around him, grabbed them with his own and hauled him around like a backpack. It worked. It took the least amount of effort. And AJ was finally beginning to shut up. Things were beginning to look better.

That's when they came to the dead end. AJ began whining and moaning about wanting to go home and getting up for his paper route. The only door was chained, locked and topped with spikes. Rick had had enough. He glanced up at the bars to his right, noting that the top was only eight feet high with a smooth top and easy clearance. He placed AJ's hands firmly on the bars, and ducked out from under his grasp. AJ's head fell like a puppet that had its strings cut, but he held on to the cold support of the iron. For all intents and purposes, he was asleep on his feet.

Rick took him by his pants and forced AJ's legs up on the bars with his own. "Climb it." he said forcefully.

AJ came to on the bars with a discombobulated, "Huh?"

Rick took AJ's right foot and started lifting his brother up. With a grunt he said, "Come on. Climb it."

Feeling his brother forcing him up the cage, AJ complied and helped with his arms. He got a strange euphoric feeling as he held on with his arms and Rick tossed his feet up over the bars. He was reminded of his childhood as he hung there, suspended.

"Monkey bars!" he shouted, and then his legs came the rest of the way over. Like a spider hit with a spray of chemicals he fell from the web of bars into the cage with a "Woahaaah!" and a thud. Rick paused for a moment taking in how AJ just fell. He was grateful he landed on his hip first and not his head, but AJ was going to have one heck of a bruise. Not that he could feel it or care about it right now.

With that cheerful thought, Rick made quick work of the bars. He dropped to the other side and bent down to assess his still unmoving brother. AJ had his arms up in the air and was staring at his hands. He had a quick flashback to when AJ was a baby and would fall. It would seem to take ten or fifteen seconds for it to register that something had happened to him, and then he would let out one hell of a wail. He had that look on his face now. The thought was appropriate, because the longer this went on, the farther back in childhood AJ seemed to go. Before this incident could go anywhere, Rick picked him up unceremoniously.

"Get up. Come here." He wrapped AJ's arm around his shoulder, took a fistful of jacket in his hand and with his hip dragged AJ's uncoordinated and uncooperative body over to the door of the cage they had just entered. Rick had assumed it was empty when he first observed it, but when AJ started making appreciative noises, he quickly propped AJ up against the wall, turned around and received yet another jolt of adrenaline.

"Oh boy." A very large, very agitated mountain lion paced restlessly at the other end of the pen. Rick had some experience with mountain lions, cougars, pumas, whatever. An attack had occurred recently when some campers had been out hiking and the result been deadly for one of them. This one placed its massive paw up on a stone and gave them both a good look at her impressive teeth when she snarled. AJ was thrilled. Rick was not, with either AJ or the lion.

"Ahh! Nice doggy!" Rick panicked as AJ struggled to get around his brother to get a closer look. Seeing no other options, Rick drove his elbow into AJ's abdomen. "Ugh." AJ grunted as the breath ran out of him. He fell drunkenly against Rick's shoulder. Trying to justify his actions, AJ asked his brother, "See, see doggy?"

"AJ shut up." Rick dug into his pants for the lock pick set. This door should be easy. It was made to keep the mountain lion in, not humans. If he could just keep his hands from shaking.

"See…what?" AJ leaned heavily on Rick's back, still trying to figure out why Rick had hit him when he was just trying to show him the doggy. It didn't seem nice.

"Shut up. That is not a dog. Now if we are both real quiet maybe he'll only eat one of us." Rick said as finally located the right instrument. Panic crept into his voice as he tried to get AJ to stand on his own. "Now get up there. Get up there!"

AJ complied, but only for a moment. The mountain lion had him fascinated. It licked its jaws and its tongue hung out. With a flash of insight he understood and had to share it!

"He's hungry!"

"I know he's hungry!" Rick felt like he was talking to a three year old as he frantically worked the lock. The last thing you want to do is turn your back on a mountain lion. AJ seemed to have it charmed with his stupid, schoolboy attitude. He smiled, lifted his finger to his lips and shushed the lion.

"Come 'ere, come on!" The door finally gave way and Rick gratefully threw it open while AJ stood there telling the lion, "Good boy. Good boy." Rick reached behind himself, grabbed AJ by the neck, pulled him out of the door and instructed him to "get out of there." AJ complied, wrapping his fingers into the cage's wire to hold his world steady and watch the "doggy" some more while Rick wasted no time getting out and locking the door behind them. He reminded his brother in a whiney voice, "He's hungry." Rick took AJ by the collar and savagely escorted him down the hall. "He's hungry, Rick!" Echoed off the wall.

AJ was off in his own world again, reliving old memories. Rick tuned out most of AJ's ramblings as he struggled with increasing fatigue and with AJ's awkward gait. At last, he found what he was looking for - a way out. AJ shuffled along, muttering, "I want to go on Monkey Island, Mrs. Schneider. Rick got to go on Monkey Island." Rick propped his brother up on the wall next to a door, hoping it was truly an exit when he realized what AJ had just said. AJ looked at Rick and asked, "Didn't we have a bet?"

A bet! No wonder AJ had known all the students who had been on the ill-fated field trip they had gone on. The one Rick and a couple of friends had snuck off on, only to be busted by a highly irate teacher. Realization dawned at an inopportune time. AJ was the one who had gotten him in trouble all those years ago and had led him think it was one of his classmates who had ratted on him. What else was had he done and concealed making Rick look like a total fool! He let out some of his frustration on AJ, throwing him up against the wall and taking him by the lapels.

"That was you, you little creep. You finked on me!"

"Huh?" AJ looked completely and utterly confused. Rick suddenly realized once again, AJ had no idea what he was saying or talking about. He was saved from a longer grilling by the sound of a door closing nearby. "What's going on?" he asked, completely befuddled. Rick ran around him and opened the door. The nighttime air flooded over him, diluting the strong odors of the animals and his own scent of sweat and fear. Rick grabbed AJ by the jacket and swung him around to face the exit door. There was no more time.

"Look, can you walk?" he asked.

"I think so." AJ had perked up a little bit and Rick hoped he could make it on this last leg. If he could, they were home free. In a calm voice that he did not feel he instructed AJ, "We gotta make a run for that tram."

AJ nodded sleepily. "I feel like I'm playing at thirty three and a third" referring to their old vinyl albums. When they were young they had fun taking the records and changing the speeds to hear the voices go fast and slow. Sometimes they laughed until they cried. Right now, all Rick wanted was for AJ to speed it up and move like a chipmunk.

"You'd better speed it up to 78" he said while pulling AJ through the door and shoving him down the path. A dart rang off the door as he pushed it shut, inspiring Rick to sprint for all he was worth to the safety the waiting tram represented. If he could get them there, maybe they could escape this nightmare.

AJ started out with a pretty decent run, but Rick soon passed him. When he looked back, his brother's ankles were buckling and AJ was doing a balancing act with his hands out trying to steady himself. Two steps later he was using his hands on the ground trying to stay moving. Somehow the danger was getting through his drug-induced fog, but his body just could not keep up. Drawing on his war experiences and fears for his sibling, Rick overcame his own fears, changed direction and went back for his brother. AJ had tried, but by the time Rick got to him, he was struggling on his hands and knees to keep moving forward. Rick gracelessly hauled him up in a fireman's carry over his right shoulder and ran through his exhaustion to the tram.

"I can do it, wick." AJ mumbled as he grabbed for the armrest when Rick slung him into the front seat of the zoo's sight seeing tram. Rick vaulted into the drivers seat and started the engine, praising the mechanics that kept the machine in a smooth running condition. His heart nearly stopped when another dart hit the tram and fell to the ground. Throwing the tram into gear, Rick took off. He nearly jumped out of his skin yet again with the loud "thud" directly behind him. He relaxed slightly when he realized it was made when AJ fell from the seat to the steel floorboard directly behind his seat. About five seconds later he heard AJ mutter, "ouch", but he didn't move or say anything else so Rick turned his concentration to his driving. Driving a zoo tram wasn't that much different than the Power Wagon, he thought. Well, maybe a little.

He couldn't see the jeep he knew had been following, so he decided to try a little turn around. He pulled the tram into a small side road and stopped, making sure all the lights were off and that the vehicle was hidden in the shadows. His heart pounded as he waited silently for the jeep. If his ploy didn't work, if the jeep turned in behind them, plan b was that he was going to beat the crap out of the driver. He could hear the throaty pitch of the jeep now as it came up and then passed the side road. He gave a ten count, threw the tram in reverse, and pulled out heading the opposite direction.

"Wa was that, Rick?" came the disoriented voice from the floor.

"Sleep it off, AJ." Rick grumbled from the front, wanting to put as much distance between himself and the jeep as possible.

"Where are we?" AJ demanded.

Rick thought that finally AJ might be coming out of it. "Headed into North Park." He responded gruffly. He waited for a response, but nothing came after the soft "oh." So he let it go. He'd been with AJ drunk before, really drunk, but never like this.

He made some turns in North Park and then headed away. Nowhere specific yet, just away, but then he started thinking of the things he would need to pull this whole thing together. He needed to get transportation, a place to drop AJ into bed until his head could clear, and where he could use the phone. Where else? Moms. Hopefully she wouldn't be in on a date.

And that's when he noticed the looks he was getting by the people on the street. AJ made some feeble attempts to get up off the floor and sit down on the bench chair, but was disoriented and uncoordinated. It was awkward, but Rick was able to help him get into the seat while stopped at a light. AJ promptly fell over on his side. Realizing sitting was a lost cause; AJ crossed his arms and laid his head down while throwing his left leg out in a feeble attempt to brace himself. "Hey Rick? Drop me off at Barbie Herman's on the way home." The wind blew by his face when he turned it sideways, and it helped orient him.

"Barbie Herman is married and has four children." Rick said his anger and frustration from the night reflected in his voice.

"But she's only a freshman! She's got some great legs, don't you think?" The lights of the city went by in a blur, dancing and shattering. With effort he could get them to come together in sharp, pristine focus only to shatter again seconds later. He swam with the wind and the lights, enjoying the effect and the way it affected him.

"Had AJ. Four kids and a couple of years can change a woman."

"Nah, she's wonderful." AJ said blissfully unaware of his brother's comments or Rick's agitation as he drove by one of San Diego's Finest. "Maybe I'll ask her to the dance…"

He was watching the legs dancing on his eyelids when AJ got blasted out of his reverie as Rick took to the speakers and started a spiel about the zoo. He sat up, lost his balance and ended up falling in the other direction.

"Nooo! No, no, no, no, no." AJ felt a wave of nausea and terror with the voices that echoed off the city walls from the speakers. He lay down and covered his head, hoping the voices would go away, and eventually they did.

Rick turned onto a side street, headed towards home. Well, technically Mom's home, but home none the less. He came to a sudden stop when a car pulled out and then slammed on its brakes in surprise at seeing the tram. AJ flew from the bench to the floor with a grunt and a groan.

"Sorry, AJ." Rick threw over his shoulder as he muttered a few curses at the driver ahead. AJ stared at his brother for a moment and threw back, "You meant to do that!" and then promptly passed out.

Rick smiled and muttered, "I said I was sorry, you fink."

He was never so happy as to see the house lit up and welcoming. Without giving it another thought, he pulled up and parked. Nothing he could do about the tram tonight anyways. He was guilty of grand theft zoo tram due to extenuating circumstances. Circumstances any judge would understand, eventually, he thought as he jumped out. He walked over and pulled out the now comatose brother of his, and slung him once again over his right shoulder. AJ didn't respond at all.

Rick shot a prayer up of thanksgiving for getting himself and his brother out of yet another life and death situation on the life side as he walked up the garden path to his mom's house. He figured the best explanation would be no explanation, at least until he got AJ upstairs and into bed. He dug into his pants for his keys and let himself in. Here goes, he thought.

"Hi Mom!" he said as he threw his hat down nonchalantly on a chair. His mother looked over at him from the couch, a brief look of consternation crossing over her face before both of them turned away, she to her book and he to take AJ upstairs. He smiled as he made his way to the room she kept for them. He knew she was going to let this one pass.

Rick opened the door to the familiar room and took AJ over to one of the twin beds. He placed him on the bed without ceremony, glad to finally get the weight off of his shoulders, both literally and figuratively. He sat down on the opposite bed and took off his boots. Luck was smiling on them again to have made it through this one, he thought. Cunning and agility and fast thinking had something to do with it too, he reminded himself smugly.

"How is he?" a voice asked from the door.

"Oh, fine. Just fine. Sleeping like a baby. I could use a beer though. Got any in the house Mom?"

"As a matter of fact…"

"Good." Rick stood up and walked over to give his mom a hug. "I don't think he wants one." He said with a smile while easing her out.

Cecilia knew her sons and knew if Rick wasn't worried, she wouldn't either. She led the way to the kitchen where she got out the milk and poured herself a cup. "Want one?"

"Beer." Rick replied.

"I tried to tell you. Fresh out. I had the last one with Fred earlier this evening."

"Fred?" Rick replied, disappointment on his face.

"Fred Franklin. You met him. No, AJ met him last week. You would have met him if you had come to the ballroom gala like you were supposed to…"

"Oh, that Fred." Rick replied while pouring himself a glass of milk. He downed it quickly and put the glass in the dishwasher. He gave his mom a quick hug and headed for the stairs. "Night Mom."

"Rick." Came an imposing voice from behind.

He paused on his way up the stairs.

"Sleep well, son."

Rick turned and smiled. "Thanks. You too."

"Good night." Cecilia said, sat down on the couch and picked up her book. Rick never noticed the tear that slipped down her face.

* * *

"Come on AJ, wake up." Rick said, freshly dressed after getting out of the shower. AJ opened a bleary eye and glared at his brother malevolently. Rick had him by the collar and was pulling him out of bed. He looked around and realized he was not at his home, or in his bed. 

"What…" AJ found himself being propelled towards the bathroom by his brother.

"Into the shower. Change of clothes is on the sink. Meet me downstairs when you are done."

"What?" AJ flopped down on the side of the tub, holding his head in his hands. He hurt all over.

"Do you know where you are?" Rick asked, distracted because he was worried that something might have happened to Dr. Sawyer between last night and this morning. The thought had occurred to him as he was mulling things over in his own shower, and he wanted to get in contact with her as quickly as possible. She had given him a variety of phone numbers, and he wanted to catch her at home if he could.

"Mom's?"

"You're OK. Get in the shower and you'll feel better. I've gotta make some phone calls. You need help?" Rick glanced at his brother one last time.

"No."

"Then move." Rick said, slamming the door.

"No." AJ said to no one in particular. For want of anything better, he began stripping and noticed how incredibly awful his clothes smelled. He started the shower, dialing up the hot until the room steamed and the mirror faded to a milky gray. Getting in he let the water run and his memories return of the previous evening. The most he could remember vividly was the time they had spent with the doctor. Then…he vaguely remembered, yes, there was a sore spot just over his left hip.

"Oh no…" AJ groaned. He remembered talking, he just couldn't remember what about. Rick. He carried me. "Oh no…" He had no idea what he had said. Words and phrases slipped in and out, but nothing made sense. Just enough returned to let him know he had made a fool of himself. He finally took the soap and cleaned up. He turned the water off, got out and mechanically went about getting dressed. Time to face the music. "Oh nooo…"

"How long was I out of it?" AJ said as he stumbled down the stairs only to find a jacket being thrown at him.

"About sixteen years. Come on, we've got a date at the Kenner Foundation. Mom, is it ok we borrow the car?" Rick said waving the keys as he walked out the door. Throwing a thanks and goodbyes over their shoulders they made their way over to their mom's car.

"I'll drive." Rick said, smiling at AJ's still bleary expression.

"Be my guest." AJ replied as he crawled into the passenger seat. "Good God! Is that how we got home last night?" AJ said referring to the zoo tram they passed parked out front.

"Yep. Looks like they want it back already." Rick said. Referring to the police car pulling up in front of the house.

"Oh no…" AJ said, sinking down in the seat. "What happened?" slipped out before he could think about the consequences of the statement.

"You don't remember?" Rick said with a smile.

"Not that part." AJ said, trying to keep Rick from thinking he had the upper hand.

"What do you remember?"

"Not that part." AJ repeated.

"Lets just say that tram was the only way out."

"Figured."

"Coffee?" Rick asked, pulling into a drive thru.

"You need to ask?"

"How many?"

"Just one." AJ replied with a smile.

"Sawyer ok?" AJ asked after Rick had placed their order.

"Fine. She said she slept with a knife under her pillow last night but otherwise is just fine." Rick handed over the hot coffee and opened his own. They drove along in silence for a while. Finally, Rick asked, "You?"

AJ looked at his brother for a moment, remembering all the times they had been there for each other. They had discussed the danger of the business they were involved in before they opened the business. After their first authentic mishap, they had discussed it in earnest. They knew the consequences. Last night made it all too clear. All too real. Not that he remembered much of it. But he knew that he was safe, here and now, because of the man sitting beside him in their mom's car. One night, when he didn't have much to do, he would sit and reflect on that, but for now, they had a case to wrap up.

"Fine Rick. I'm fine."

"Good." Rick said, putting the now empty coffee cup in the cup holder. He was truly happy. And now, for the moment, that made it all worthwhile.

"Cause there is this matter of a bet that I wanted to talk to you about…"


End file.
